Round 9 saw all derbies take place, with St Helens’ 100% winning streak come to an end, Hull KR with a last minute winner against Hull FC and Bradford remain bottom of the table.
Hull KR vs Hull FC- Hull KR got the last minute win at the KC Lightstream Stadium with a Craig Hall, yes Craig Hall drop goal separating the two sides. Not the best performance from Hull FC, and it won’t be a day Coach Lee Radford will want to remember. 21-20 to KR the full-time score, with a crowd of 10,197
Bradford Bulls vs Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos secured their 7th win of the season at the Provident Stadium in front of a good crowd. The game saw a hat-trick from Hall and it also saw Rob Burrow mark his 400th appearance with his own try, too. The Bulls couldn’t recover from the first 15 minutes of Leeds attack, which saw Leeds score 4 tries. 46-6 Leeds came out winners, in front of 10,106 people.
London Broncos vs Catalan Dragons
The unusual derby, I like to call this. Two sides which are improving each week, and the score line showed a close match. London were on the end of their 9th successive defeat, but a better performance than when they played the Dragons last in the Challenge Cup, which ended 40-24 to the Dragons. 22-28 London lost, in front of a very small crowd of just 1,002…
Warrington Wolves vs Widnes Vikings
Warrington were back to their usual selves, with a comfortable win over the Vikings. A much improved performance by the Wolves, who lost last week against Hull KR. Only 1 try for the Vikings in the whole game, who usually have no trouble going over the whitewash. 44-6 Wolves ran out winners, in front of a large crowd of 10,500.
St Helens vs Wigan Warriors
Wigan Warriors came into this game as the under-dogs, but they proved that they still had it. Wigan’s number 7, Matt Smith had this to say before the derby: “We’ve not really performed to the best we can this year, and it probably takes a game like this -a derby game- to bring out the best in you” And it certainly did for the Wigan boys. St Helens just weren’t up with the paces, which saw their 100% winning streak come to an end. Tries from O’Loughlin Sarginson, Farrell (2) and Burgess and a drop kick from Smith saw Wigan win the derby 33-14, in front of a massive crowd of 17,980. Over 3,000 more than last year’s fixture!
Wakefield Wildcats vs Castleford Tigers
The sun was shining over The Belle Vue stadium, which saw Castleford win in the derby. Wakefield held their own in the first half, but it was the second half where Castleford ran riot, which made it look like an easy win over the Wildcats, which I’ve heard it certainly wasn’t. Tries from Carney (as usual), Clark (2), Owen (2), Wheeldon (2) and Finn saw the Tigers defeat the Wildcats 43 points to 20, with a crowd of 5,159.
Salford Red Devils vs Huddersfield Giants
Another weird derby this one. A hat-trick from Aaron Murphy helped towards Giants’ victory over the Devils. The 2013 Super League League Leaders saw their 4th match-losing run come to an end with what seems a comfortable victory over the Devils. Harris will see that his side needs to improve in certain areas, but I’m sure Koukash won’t be sacking him just yet. 42-22 to the Giants the match finished, with 5,068 people at the AJ Bell Stadium.
Some very good attendances this round! First Utility Super League Round 10 is just around the corner, so check back soon for that round-up! Don’t forget to follow @LeagueFreak on twitter and my own Rugby League account, @RLLatest.
Thanks for reading!
